Help us create the Art and the Archive

Your story about Atlanta’s legacy is important to us – be it a reflection on civil rights history or a response to social justice issues of today.

Needs ideas for what to say? Here are some prompts:
Don’t feel like you need to answer all of these questions – these are meant to inspire you.

• Were you in Atlanta in the 1960s? What do you remember about it then?

• If you aren’t a longtime legacy resident, when did you arrive to the city? What brought you here and what stood out to you when you arrived?

• How would your describe your Atlanta? What’s changed, what’s stayed the same?

• What has been a defining event for you in your life? (If possible, in context of the city)

• How will Atlanta be remembered?

• What does the future hold?

• What makes our city special?

• What stories have you heard about this place?

• What makes an Atlantan?

• When did you consider yourself an Atlantan?

Submitting an Audio Story

• Think about whose story you want to hear and preserve. What would you like us to know? Whom would you like to honor by recording and sharing his or her story with the world?

• Make sure you have uninterrupted time. Look for rooms with carpeting that will absorb noise, and try to avoid ones that have an echo or windows that look out on trafficked streets. Also avoid public places where crowds and background noises will interfere with recording. Always remember to mute your phone, turn off TVs and music, and silence electronic devices. Before starting, think about anything that may prevent you from focusing or may cause a distraction.

• You may record yourself using the voice memos app on your smartphone. Here is how to access Voice Memos on your iPhone, and here is how to access the same feature on Android.

• Once you’re finished, you may either email the file directly to hello@atlantalegacymakers.com. Here are directions for how to email voice memo files from iPhone. If you choose to email it directly, please make sure you also fill out the form below!

Submitting a Video Story

• Our advice for recording your video story is similar to the audio submission guidelines, but we have a few additional tips for video.

• If you have access to a front-facing/selfie camera on your smartphone, please use it, and rotate the phone so that you are viewing yourself in landscape mode.

• Make sure you are framed in the center of the screen, with good lighting. Lighting inside a building can sometimes be limited, so if there’s a quiet place outside you can record, that should work as well. Keep an eye on the light source (whether it’s the sun or an inside light) and make sure it isn’t directly in front of you or behind you, since that can cause strange shadows. Soft, diffused light is best (a bright room with the curtains pulled, a slightly cloudy day or in the shade on a bright day).

• Once you’re finished, you may either email the file directly to hello@atlantalegacymakers.com. Here are directions for how to email video files from iPhone and Android. Please make sure you also fill out the form below!

Diffused light:
Taken underneath the trees in this photo.

If you have any questions about recording, uploading, or what this will be used for, please don’t hestiate to reach out to: hello@atlantalegacymakers.com

Some of this language is adapted from the StoryCorps submission guidelines.